Down to the river we pray
by Premade-apples
Summary: Sakura is getting sick and tierd of Sasuke's ungodly late night outings. Suspision gets the best of her when she wants to find out where he heads off to. But she never expected this. Its a cutie oneshot.


**HAHaha!...sorry.**

**hi! well, here's another weird, short, moody one-shot from me. btw, i believe Sasuke is being totally ooc. i don't think warning you of the ooc-ness ahead of time makes it okay, it just makes it less not okay. okay?**

**Lyrics from The Eagles, 'Hotel California'

* * *

**

**_On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair  
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air  
Up ahead in the distance, I saw shimmering light  
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim  
I had to stop for the night  
There she stood in the doorway;  
I heard the mission bell  
And I was thinking to myself,  
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'  
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way  
There were voices down the corridor,  
I thought I heard them say..._**

A raucous rumbling of carpet creaking and grating against wood as the door opened its mouth into a wide gape of light flourished the insides of the inn's skeleton. Sakura, once again, was jarred awake. She was really starting to doubt it was simply out of the kindness of their hearts that Sasuke and Naruto had been ever so willing to give her the bedroom closest to the main area.

Rubbing away some crusted sleep from the corner of her eyes, Sakura blinked over at the CD/clock player at the foot of her bed. She had somehow figured out how to program that damn clock, and right now it was dimly blinking 3:17. Looking to the tiny, circular window on her far wall and taking into account the dazzling array of stars, Sakura judged it was definitely A.M. And Sasuke was heading out again on yet another one of his past-curfew escapades.

She was tired of this. Sick and tired of this. This wasn't the first time he had done this. And if she didn't do something about it tonight, it wouldn't be the last time either.

Sakura gave a tired harrumph and launched herself upright. Hair flew forward and straggled before her heavy-lidded eyes. In the lightly teal-tinted neon light outside displaying 'Saki Inn', the sheen of her pastel pink strands glowed bloody red, she noticed. Quite Devilish. Shaking the thought of the gruesome shine of her hair, Sakura threw off her few blankets and ambled out of bed while pulling on a pair of sweats and her fur-trimmed jacket and sliding into her flat old shoes.

The door was already ending its noisy yawn by the time Sakura made it to the end of the room, opening her door. In the advanced darkness, there was no way to gauge where she was or if she was about to run into a sleep-wandering Naruto or Kakashi, on their way to the fridge for a mid-night snack, so all Sakura could do was close her eyes, pick up her pace and hope that nothing got in her way because it would inevitably just get mowed over. Nothing was going to stop her. She was putting an end to this particular stupid Sasuke-antic tonight.

**_So I called up the Captain,  
'Please bring me my wine'  
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'  
And still those voices are calling from far away,  
Wake you up in the middle of the night  
Just to hear them say..._**

She went out the door out onto the hall knowing that Sasuke was also going on foot—she had watched him leave the night before. The Kirigakure waters were much cleaner than Konohagakure waters these days and the harbor actually smelled of ocean and birds and sea food, as opposed to Konoha's harbors' familiar reek of waste, Ocean, waste and some other kinds of waste.

There was a constant swooshing of waves bumping gently on the poles of the dock that somewhat lulled Sakura's frustration with the 'once ago crush of hers'. The cool breeze was sprinkled with light gusts of mist and salt, also soothing in its own way.

Sakura turned her back against the wind and squinted her eyes to look out over the dock and scan carefully for any tall, broad, chicken-butt-topped figures. She spotted one swaggering down the planked boardwalk, his outline half-lit by overhead lights and stars. His shoulders were hunched as a combatant against the wet cold, giving his form an undeniable Y shape.

Banishing all thoughts of which letters of the alphabet Sasuke's body reminded her of; Sakura gave her second harrumph of the night and hastily started down the dock after the black-haired vowel.

Before she knew it, she was stepping onto the sidewalk, shielding her eyes from harsh neon fluorescents and streetlights. Ninja countries seemed to never sleep. And born Shinobi's, such as the arrogant asses Sakura was currently tailing, often lived by the same slogan. Fucking retards.

The streets weren't exactly bustling, but there were enough people staggering around to make it hard to discreetly follow anyone. For the first time (or, at least the first time she was willing to admit to), Sakura was grateful for Sasuke's Feathery hat and fairly tall height. He stuck out like a sore, or rather, blue thumb.

She kept a few steps behind trying to avoid by passers as swiftly and as smoothly as Sasuke did. How the hell did he do that? He wasn't all skin and bone, but he sure as hell made it seem that way, he could just turn his body slightly sideways and practically slip through a crack in the sidewalk. Sakura had never been so resentful of her breasts.

Shit, she was falling behind. Sasuke was just gliding in between people without breaking his pace like a ghost, while Sakura was crashing into everyone in sight like a fucking pinball _Plink_ing and scoring points the whole way.

Sasuke sidestepped a stumbling drunk. Sakura didn't. _Plink_. Sasuke sidled past a hooker and her pimp. Sakura didn't. _Plink plink_. Sasuke slipped through a group of druggy teens and their druggy dog. Sakura didn't. _Plink plink plink plink plink arf._ Sasuke hooked a sharp turn into an alleyway. Sakura followed. _Plunk_.

She made it about half way into the gloomy backstreet before she realized Chicken-butt Top had disappeared. Sakura stopped abruptly and heard herself gasp. _What the... where the hell did he just go?_

"Tailing me?"

Sakura jumped at the voice and the worn soles of her sandals lost their grip on the grimy street. She skid some and fell to the side, grabbing for a rusted old fire-escape beside her. Having caught her balance, she brushed some rebellious and unkempt strands of bloody red hair from her face and turned to speak to the man who somehow was behind her. How could she be so dense as to keep her guard down?

"Tailing you? Yeah, as if. I come out here all the time. Sliding on filth is fun." Sakura's eyes lifted into his. The sarcasm in her tone hadn't translated into anger on his features, as usual. If she wasn't mistaken, he almost looked humored. He knew that something, such as tailing him in the past. Back then it would have annoyed him; the feeling of being followed by her was second nature to him. He regarded her, still without speaking.

"So, Mr. Runaway Train-wreck, where have you been going these past few nights at such an ungodly hour?" Sakura straightened and crossed her arms, jetted out her chin a bit.

"Ungodly, huh?" Sasuke mused. He looked heavenward for a second with only his eyes rolling up as if he were determining what exactly about this particular hour made it so ungodly. Then, his gaze came back to Sakura's. He looked so boyish and genuine in this not-so-lighting; so naïve and clean against the crud and gunk backdrop of the smutty alley. Sakura wasn't used to this dimension of Sasuke, and quite frankly, as innocuous as he looked, Sakura was frightened. She was sure when Sasuke came back he was going to be in his most broodingest, not a mere resemblance of Kakashi's slumpish child like ways. A lump of dismay hitched in her throat and she took a step back.

Sasuke grinned, maybe a little at her reaction, but most likely, there was something going on in that brilliant head of his that was much more amusing. Sasuke started to turn out of the alley. Glancing behind him for a second, he caught eyes with Sakura and gave a nod towards the main street, a little malicious smirk still playing with the edges of his smooth lips.

"C'mon," he said and kept on his way towards the mouth of the dank passageway.

Sakura took a moment to breathe, considered some things she could say, ultimately decided she had no words, and continued after Sasuke.

**_Mirrors on the ceiling,  
The pink champagne on ice  
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'  
And in the master's chambers,  
They gathered for the feast  
They stab it with their steely knives,  
But they just can't kill the beast_**

Once again, she was having trouble keeping up with him while trying to filter through the bit of traffic. Sasuke seemed to notice her struggle after having to look back at her a couple times just to make sure she hadn't been trampled or halted by lewd men or some other strange occurrence that only happens to her.

Finally, he liberated one hand and grabbed behind him for Sakura's wrist. Dragging her up beside him, he looked down on her from his high station.

"I swear, you're slower than cold molasses," he complained with a playful laugh, completely contradicting the normal 'Hatake-spirit'.

Sakura found herself unable to respond to this new-found-Sasuke, but only blinked up into his dark grey irises. All she could locate in her throat was a small, "Molasses?"

Again, Sasuke chuckled. "And I rest my case."

Sakura quickly learned that trying to navigate herself was pretty much making everything worse, and by just putting her head down and letting Sasuke guide her around, everything went surprisingly... smoother.

Sakura lost herself in the soft clapping of footsteps against cement and the little grunts and mumbles of passersby. And she was alright with that. It was less than rare for Sakura to let down her guard. In fact, it was unheard of. Haruno Sakura, AKA The apprentice of the Hokage, let no emotions out, and more importantly, no one was let in to see them. But with Sasuke, she was allowed to lower her weapons for a minute and just enjoy the warm ride. It was alright to get lost and not know where she was going, because as long as what Naruto likes to call 'Teme' was there, it would be okay.

Suddenly, Sasuke came to a stop and Sakura, still adrift in her own head, didn't react in time and ended up bumping into him from behind.

"Careful," Sasuke said, implying that Sakura was, of course, a child needing protection. Not catching the allusion, the girl started blinking at her surroundings, trying to figure out if she either could or couldn't recognize them. Nope, she couldn't.

"Uh... Sasuke?" Sakura gradually made a complete 360, suddenly aware that all the buzzing of the streets had left them far behind and all that surrounded her now was a grassy plain full of narcissus white flowers. The ankle-tall blades rocked back and forth as if sea-sick. Over a fence and down a hill maybe twenty yards away, ran a small river. It was much too quiet to be rushing over those smooth stones the way it was. "Where are we?"

Sakura came back around to her starting point and noticed Sasuke had taken a few steps towards the fence. The moonlight reflected sharply off the blades of grass and luminated the many flowers giving them a brilliant glow surrounding his now kneeling figure, swaying in a cool breeze, resembling tiny spears. His head was bowed and his large hands were folded, resting nicely in his lap. Sakura watched him for a while, completely captivated by the man's humble position. More winds rolled over the grass, flowed through the fields and streaked them silver. Sakura could only imagine what her hair must look like right now.

She took a swallow and stepped gingerly on the grass in the direction of Sasuke. As she approached, she licked her lips, contemplated saying his name. Once she was close enough to make out the individual hairs of his spiked up mane caught in the wind, she knew she didn't have the courage to speak to him. She peeked over his shoulder and saw what exactly it was Sasuke was stooping for. One large, smooth glazed boulder sprouted from the ground before the man. No epitaph was carved into the stone, and Sasuke had laid a humble narcissus in front of it. Sakura came to a halt. The moment she stopped nearing, he spoke.

"Amen."

Sasuke stood. He pushed himself up with a grunt much too strained for a man his age. He said nothing. He only thrust out his stare onto the rushing brooks and inhaled deeply, stuffed his hands back into his jacket.

"Sasuke?" Sakura finally found the nerve to croak. Sasuke gave no sign that he even heard her. In a way, she sort of hoped he hadn't. She had sounded pretty desperate. She didn't know what she was about to ask him. She wasn't sure how much about this scene she wanted to figure out. And so, she kept quiet.

"Do you believe in something higher up than us?"

She couldn't even tell if he was speaking to her, but as far as she knew, they were the only two there. She felt her antsy fingers dancing around nimbly inside her coat pockets.

"Well... I kinda guess so. Sometimes..."

"Sakura, you can't kinda believe in something sometimes."

Well, at least he was using her name now so that she knew he was indeed speaking to her.

"So, I take it that you do," she said back.

"I have to," Sasuke replied. His head cranked around and Sakura was able to make out that relentless, grin. Something else hitched in her throat. "I believe in Heaven, demons and Hell. Believing in someone like a 'God' comes with the package."

Sakura was left staring for a while. Just... staring.

Sasuke's smirk grew. He gave a little chuckle at Sakura's expression and then started walking past her and away from the fence and stream.

"Come on, it's cold out here," he called back at a frozen Sakura. A gush whisked by and effectively snapped Sakura to. She shook out her headband-less hair and started going after him.

"Sasuke, wait!"

_**Last thing I remember, I was  
Running for the door  
I had to find the passage back  
To the place I was before**_

She caught up then slowed to Sasuke's stroll of a pace. He glanced down at her with a small hint of a smile that couldn't be recognized. "Nice of you to join me."

"Why do you believe in Heaven?" she asked, more dumbfounded than actually interested. The luminescence of the moon bounced off of Sasuke's high cheekbones and sparkled back in his eyes which were shaded over by floppy bangs.

He made a face for the first time that night that didn't look completely absurd. His brow scrunched up and dropped over his dizzying orbs. He almost pouted in a musing sort of way. Sakura never broke the gaze. Sasuke did.

"I knew what Heaven was once." For a brief second, the only sound was the crunching of damp grass folding beneath the duo's shoes. Sakura was about to inquire of him again before Sasuke decided to answer her unasked question.

"My mother told me about the place. I believed it was real."

* * *

Sakura was staring at her shoes when they made it back to the paved road. The traffic had thinned out even more and for a few brief moments, Sasuke and Sakura would be the only ones around. 

"So..." Sakura's voice was soft and subtle, as if the answer to her last question had scared the shinobi right out of her. "You believe in demons?"

Sakura could sense Sasuke looking over at her. She could feel the burning of his onyx eyes hanging on her skin. And she never glanced up.

"Yeah." She felt him pull her over to the side a bit with a hand on her waist just so that she wouldn't run into some guy stumbling their way.

"I was forced out of Heaven, Sakura. Know what that makes me?"

Sakura's emeralds finally rose. She was met with Sasuke's square gaze. He had shortened his steps so that they could be in sync now. Then, he graced her with that smug grin. "Just the last Uchiha."

Sakura grinned slightly. She dropped her eyes back to her beat-up flats and gave Sasuke's bicep a friendly punch. He draped his arm over her neck and put her in a loose headlock just for a second.

* * *

It was starting to look like morning by the time Sakura and Sasuke made it to the inn they were staying at for the remainder of the mission. Sasuke had forgotten to take his arm off of Sakura's shoulders. Sakura had forgotten to remind him not to. 

The rhythm of their stroll was a light _scuff-clunk_ sound of them brushing their heels over the planks before planting their clumsy shoes down flat.

"So tell me, Uchiha," Sakura grinned up at him.

"Hmm?" Sasuke smirked back.

"Why is it that you believe in Hell?"

Sasuke's smirk grew smugger, as if that were possible. He gave her a little squeeze and chuckle before saying, "Well, that's easy. I put up with all three of you."

Their rhythm broke. Sasuke took a step that Sakura didn't answer. He stopped and craned his head to look at her.

"Sakura?"

Sakura's expression was nothing less of devastating. She could have brought down Orochimaru with that face. Her lips parted; her eyes were shattered and wavering, the lime in her irises spilled over with cold aqua. And Sasuke just looked at it all like a deer in the head-lights.

He didn't understand. And how could he? He didn't know what it was like to be compared to Heaven.

Sakura closed her eyes and turned her head away. She was so embarrassed. She felt so weak…again…in front of him. How could a simple teasing comment from him, butterfingered, trigger-happy, arrogant teme reduce her to this?

He didn't know it, but she had actually had a little bit of hope after what happened between them tonight. She had actually believed they had experienced some sort of break-through in their relationship where they were almost at an understanding with each other, almost reached some kind of friendship. _Ha_, she thought. _You are such a fool._ Sasuke dashed all of those hopes right then and there by admitting that being with her was a good as being in Hell.

"Is that really how you feel, Sasuke?" she whispered. "Is this really like an eternity of torment for you?"

She still wasn't looking, but Sakura felt Sasuke gently grab her shoulders. She gasped in shakily and flinched just the tiniest bit. She hadn't realized that her shoulders had been bouncing with her uneven breathing until Sasuke tried to hold them still.

"Sakura, you're taking this all wrong."

"Am I?" she suddenly snapped, her eyes flew open and locked with his. Once again, her breathing snagged on something.

"Sakura, I was kidding. You know that."

Sakura didn't acknowledge that she did, but only sighed and looked away.

"Anyway, you forgot that I told you I was forced out of Heaven."

Sakura sniffled, but perked some.

"You know where angels go once they fall from grace, don't you?" Sasuke's tenor was a low, rumbling hum. Sakura felt as if she didn't have the strength to answer him.

"Demons get cast down to Hell, Sakura." His hands slid from her shoulders. Through the suede of her coat, Sakura could feel Sasuke's strong grip molding down her arms and glide onto the small of her back, pulling her into him. Her forehead rested on his collarbone. His warm breath was falling on the top of her head. Sakura shivered against his heat. She could feel him stroking her hair with the tip of his nose, and then she felt the gentleness of his lips as he softly kissed her head.

_**'Relax,' said the night man,  
'We are programmed to receive.  
You can check-out any time you like,  
But you can never leave!'**_

"You're my Hell, Sakura," he spoke into her hair. "And now that I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."

Sakura smiled into his chest and let her arms snake around him.

"Hallelujah."

"And Amen."

* * *

**Don't ask. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it. Um, I posted this as a rated T, but I need your opinion if it should go higher up for the bad language.**

**I honestly, have no idea whose grave that was Sasuke was praying to. I dunno.**

**Okay, please, leave a review :) and flame if you wish, just back it up with... something. Like cookie dough ice cream. Oh, I will totally accept flames for some cookie dough ice cream right now. Thanks guys, and luv ya!**

**Pma.x.!**


End file.
